Speech by FS at Festival of Connoisseurs Gala Dinner (English only) (with photos)
*********************************************************************************
Patrick (Group Chief Operating Officer of Informa Markets, Mr Patrick Martell), Margaret (President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Informa Markets Asia, Mrs Margaret Connolly), Vivian (CEO of the Airport Authority Hong Kong and the Chairman of AsiaWorld-Expo, Mrs Vivian Cheung), Peter (Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Dr Peter Lam), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It is a pleasure to join you for the gala dinner of the Festival of Connoisseurs. I extend a particularly warm welcome to our friends visiting from overseas.
This morning, we admired the craftsmanship on display. Tonight, we meet the people behind it.
My sincere thanks go to Informa Markets and its partners for bringing this inaugural festival to Hong Kong. You have assembled nine premium clusters, more than 50 world-renowned brands and over 3 000 overseas visitors. To have achieved this in less than a year is truly impressive.
With fine jewellery, exceptional wines and spirits, supercars and superyachts on display, there is so much to admire, and no shortage of temptation. If you are here with your spouse, I suggest agreeing early on what counts as a souvenir.
Hong Kong knows how to bring together good food, fine wine, elegant craftsmanship and people who appreciate them all. This festival has found the right home.
Tonight gives us time to get to know one another over dinner. I also hope our overseas guests will take the opportunity to discover more of Hong Kong.
More reasons to stay
Giving visitors more to enjoy is central to our tourism and events strategy. This year, we have more than 230 events on the calendar, spanning finance, business, culture, sports and entertainment.
We also schedule events close together, so that visitors can enjoy several in one trip. This week is a good example, with FinTech Week, the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit and this festival.
A visitor arriving for a conference may stay for an exhibition, enjoy a concert or bring the family to our theme parks. That gives people more reasons to come and to stay, and the benefits reach beyond the venues to our hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions.
To sustain that appeal, we keep introducing new experiences, so that returning visitors always find something fresh.
That is why I allocated $100 million in the Budget this year to attract high-quality, large-scale international exhibitions with distinctive new elements. I am delighted that the Festival of Connoisseurs is the first exhibition supported under this initiative.
From art to wealth
Our vision, however, goes beyond a longer visit. We are developing Hong Kong into a leading international wealth management centre, and wealthy families are gathering here in growing numbers. Last year, Hong Kong counted more than 18 000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals, ranking second among cities worldwide. We also hosted more than 3 300 single family offices, an increase of over 25 per cent in two years. And this year, Hong Kong became the largest cross-boundary wealth management centre in the world.
These families share more than a need for wealth management. Many are passionate collectors of art, wine, jewellery and the finer things in life. This festival speaks directly to those interests, bringing discerning customers together with brands and specialists who understand what they value.
Art is a good example. Hong Kong is already among the top three arts trading centres in the world, and we intend to become a global hub for premium arts trading.
Under Project Skytopia, the Airport Authority is developing an art and valuables storage facility. Scheduled to open in early 2027, it will offer museum-grade storage and private viewing rooms for collectors and art businesses.
Facilities like this form part of a broader effort to make Hong Kong a place where wealth owners and their families can manage their assets, pursue their passions and plan for the generations to come.
Increasingly, these families are asking not only how to grow their wealth, but what it should achieve. Hong Kong is a natural place to find the answer. We have a long and generous tradition of philanthropy, with more than 11 000 recognised charities and some of the most active foundations in Asia. Together with deep capital markets and strong professional services, this city has every ingredient to become a leading centre for impact capital in the region.
We are building on that advantage. Our Impact Link platform connects family offices with accredited charitable projects in Hong Kong and beyond. The latest Policy Address goes a step further, matching resources from family offices and businesses with community welfare projects.
A place to call home
Of course, no family chooses a home for its financial services alone. They choose it for the life they can lead. In Hong Kong, that means world-class dining and a vibrant wine culture, outstanding museums and galleries, and country parks, beaches and beautiful sailing waters within easy reach of the city centre. Few cities offer so much, so close together.
For the brands and businesses in this room, all of these adds up to more than a finance story. It means customers and partners who value art, culture and the craftsmanship you represent. And beyond our city lies the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a market of more than 88 million people with rising wealth and a growing appetite for quality products and exceptional experiences. So a conversation that begins at this festival can become an enduring presence in this region.
Looking forward to a bigger festival
Ladies and gentlemen, an inaugural festival asks a great deal of everyone involved. The organisers took a leap of faith. The brands brought their finest pieces halfway around the world. And many of you travelled a long way to be here. Thank you for your confidence in Hong Kong.
I understand that next year's festival will be even bigger. As Financial Secretary, I am always pleased to hear about growth. And tonight, I am happy to leave the spending decisions to you.
I wish you all a wonderful evening, and the best of health and business in the year ahead.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:52
Issued at HKT 19:52
NNNN
Photo
